This application claims the priority of German application 197 05 281.9-16 filed in Germany on Feb. 12, 1997.
The invention relates to a vehicle with at least one rear seat located behind a front seat as viewed in the direction of travel, said rear seat comprising a seat part mounted on the vehicle floor and a seat back mounted pivotably thereto, with a floor pan located in the vehicle floor in front of the rear seat to receive the rear seat when folded together by folding the seat back onto the seat part, with the edge of the floor pan being flush with the floor and with a folding mechanism to pivot the folded rear seat into the floor pan.
In a known vehicle, especially a tank, of this general design (DE 19 44 654 U1) each seat part of a plurality of vehicle seats located behind and next to one another is articulated directly at the edge of the floor pan at floor level and the depth of the floor pan is adapted for comfortable sitting on the seat part located in its use position, with the seated individual placing his/her feet on the floor pan. With the seat lowered into the floor pan, the seat back is folded down onto the seat cushion of the seat part and the underside of the seat part forms a plane smooth plate that is flush with the vehicle floor and seals off the floor pan so that a flat cargo area is available throughout the interior of the vehicle. If necessary, each seat can be unfolded again at any point in time at the expense of the cargo volume. The folding mechanism for lowering the vehicle seat into the floor pan and raising the vehicle seat out of the floor pan again is constituted by a hinge that is located at the lower front edge of the seat part next to the edge of the floor pan, said hinge being secured to the vehicle floor. This known vehicle has the disadvantage that because of the floor pan depth being adapted to the seat height, the dimension of the vehicle floor in the travel direction of the vehicle is considerable and the height of the interior that is available for cargo when the vehicle seats are lowered is significantly reduced.
Minivans of current design have a relatively small cargo volume behind the last row of seats when all the seats are in place. To enlarge this volume, the vehicle seats can be disconnected and removed. It is disadvantageous in this regard that it is necessary to disassemble, i.e. disconnect the individual vehicle seats from their anchored positions in the vehicle floor and to store the vehicle seats that have been removed, outside the vehicle in fixed locations that must be found again when an additional passenger seat is required. As a result, the vehicle can be adapted only by expending considerable time to adapt to changing needs as regards passenger capacity and cargo volume.
A goal of the invention is to design the folding mechanism in a vehicle of the species recited at the outset in such fashion that the depth of the floor pan need be dimensioned only to reflect the packet thickness of the rear seat when folded down and need not depend upon the seat height of the rear seat that is required for good seating comfort, so that the advantage of the permanently available rear seat that is offered in the known vehicle, said seat being stored in the floor to increase the cargo area and being capable of being raised again at any time if a seat is required, can also be provided in minivans.
This goal is achieved in a vehicle of the type referred to above by providing an arrangement wherein said folding mechanism has two front and two rear supports, each support being designed to pivot around a pivot axis defined by the seat part and aligned in a lengthwise direction of the vehicle, said supports securing the rear seat in its operating position at a preset seat height above the vehicle floor, wherein the two front supports are mounted so that their ends remote from the seat part can pivot around a pivot axis aligned transversely to the lengthwise direction of the vehicle and defined below the vehicle floor, and wherein the two rear supports are each secured in a bearing accommodated in the vehicle floor, the bearings for the two rear supports being designed as support bearings in which ends of the supports are releasably received.
The vehicle according to the invention has the advantage that the depth of the floor pan to receive a rear seat need only be adapted exclusively to the relatively limited packet thickness of the folded rear seat, said thickness being determined essentially by the thickness of the seat cushion and seat back cushion on the seat part and seat back, and the seat height to be provided for seating comfort is defined by the folding mechanism. A much greater cargo area is then available if needed and the seats continue to be permanently associated with the vehicle so that they can be made available at any time by simply unfolding them. The total of four supports for the folding mechanism can be dimensioned so that either the floor pan or a load-resistant floor panel that covers the floor pan and lies flush with the vehicle floor forms the foot support area for the seated passengers. In the latter case, which is preferred, the floor pan volume available below the floor plate can be used as additional cargo space.
According to one advantageous embodiment of the invention, the floor pan opening can be covered by a load-resistant floor panel that lies flush with the vehicle floor, said pan preferably being secured pivotably to the vehicle floor by a pivot axis that runs along its transverse edge located furthest from the rear seat. For reasons of improved handling with limited space available between the front and rear seats, according to another embodiment of the invention the floor panel is divided parallel to its pivot axis and the two panel parts can be folded onto one another along a pivot axis that is parallel to the main pivot axis.
If the front seat is equipped with a seat back that can be adjusted by a motor and/or if it can be moved by a motor in conventional fashion in the lengthwise direction of the vehicle, according to one advantageous embodiment of the invention the control device that is provided for controlling the drive motors to adjust the seat is provided with an additional control function such that when the floor pan is opened by raising the floor panel, a shifting movement of the front seat is performed in a direction that increases the distance from the rear seat and/or causes an erecting motion of the seat back into a given position that permits the rear seat to pivot into the floor pan and is not impeded by the seat back of the front seat.
According to one advantageous embodiment of the invention, the floor pan extends to a point below the at least one front seat, and also accommodates the spare wheel. The spare wheel is introduced through the floor opening that is exposed when the floor panel is raised, and is pushed beneath the expanded area of the pan below the front seat so that space remains available for pivoting the rear seat downward.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.